President Barack Obama speaks to media as he meets with representatives from Major Cities Chiefs Association and Major County Sheriffs Association in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, Jan. 28, 2013, in Washington, to discuss policies put forward by President Obama to reduce gun violence. From left are U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau and Hennepin County Minnesota Sheriff Richard W. Stanek, President Obama, and Charles H. Ramsey Police Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

President Barack Obama speaks to media as he meets with...

U.S. President Barack Obama (2R) along with Vice President Joe Biden (L) meet with representatives from the Major Cities Chiefs Association and Major Counties Sheriffs Association to discuss the Administration's plans to reduce gun violence in America at the White House January 28, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama called on Congress to act on passing laws that restrict access to assault weapons.
Photo: Pool, Photo By Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images

WASHINGTON -- President Obama met Monday with the police chief of Newtown and other law enforcement officers from around the country to urge congressional approval of gun measures that he said would prevent more mass violence.

Obama invited Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe and the others to the White House to tout the administration's efforts to set stricter rules for gun ownership in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 students and six adults were murdered by a lone gunman.

Also at the meeting was John Edwards, police chief from Oak Creek, Wis., where six people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Sikh temple last August; Daniel Oates, police chief at Aurora, Colo., where a gunman shot and killed 12 moviegoers last July; and Robert Villasenor, police chief from Tucson, Ariz., near where then-Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot and six others were killed by a gunman.

"The only way that we're going to be able to do everything that needs to be done is with the cooperation of Congress," Obama told the law enforcement officials. "And that means passing serious laws that restrict the access and availability of assault weapons and magazine clips that aren't necessary for hunters and sportsmen and those responsible gun owners who are out there. It means that we are serious about universal background checks. It means that we take seriously issues mental health and school safety."

The president said meeting participants came from a wide cross-section of communities across the country. "If law enforcement officials who are dealing with this stuff every single day can come to some basic consensus in terms of steps that we need to take, Congress is going to be paying attention to them and we'll be able to make progress." Earlier this month, Kehoe called for a ban on assault weapons and limits on high-capacity gun magazines. He was not immediately available for comment after his White House meeting.

Recalling Biden's meetings earlier this month with groups interested in gun issues, Obama told the law enforcement officials that "no group is more important for us to listen to than our law enforcement leaders -- they are where the rubber hits the road."

He said he wanted to hear from the chiefs and sheriffs about "what will make the biggest difference to prevent something like Newtown or Oak Creek from happening again."

Obama also said the focus on gun violence should not be limited to mass shootings but also what happens on "a day-in-day-out basis in places like Chicago or Philadelphia, where young people are victims of gun violence every single day."

That raises the question of what are we doing to make sure that we've got the strongest possible law enforcement teams on the ground, Obama said, indicating the need to hire more cops, provide training and make sure that rural sheriff's offices have access to resources.